Grokfeast in Austin, Texas

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Updated on December 19, 2013

On September 8th I asked my readers to host picnics and to send me the results. The following is one of 27 amazing submissions, the best of which will win an entire cow, courtesy of US Wellness. Vote for your favorite on October 8.

Our Primal Picnic was a meetup of the Austin Primal Living Group on meetup.com. We had a primal potluck picnic at Pease Park, a nice expansive park near downtown Austin. However to get to our meetup we first had to pass by a large group of sickly looking vegans and vegetarians who just happened to be having a meetup at the same time and place. To start off everyone went around and talked a little about how they got into primal living and why it appeals to them. For some it has helped with food intolerances and autoimmune disease. Others got into it because it just made sense and it makes them look and feel better. Then we chowed down on some wonderful dishes. Alex’s Heroin Wings were amazing, very juicy and succulent. The bacon wrapped sausages Tracy and I made were also a big hit. We also had some very colorful side dishes with fruits and veggies and some delicious tea to wash it all down. For dessert Vicky made a great baked apple dish with walnuts. Most of the time we were just talking and getting to know each other. It is great to be able to go to social function and actually be able to eat the food.

Then came the primal activities! We climbed a couple trees in our VFF’s. We threw around a couple footballs and Frisbees. Some people even decided to just lie out in the grass and enjoy the breeze, very relaxing and primal. To finish the night off we did some natural movements, a little gymnastics mixed with parkour. Then Nam finished off the night by serenading us with some lovely guitar music and singing. It was a great success; everyone had a lot of fun and can’t wait for the next one.

The Feast

Heroin chicken drumsticks
Bacon wrapped sausage on toothpicks
Fruit salad with grapes, blackberries and strawberries
Celery and carrot with guacamole
Baked acorn squash
Grapefruit
Bell pepper with guacamole dip
Baked apples with walnuts
Peach Black Tea

Recipe: “Heroin Chicken” for Drumsticks

Mix together:

1c Grated Parmesan cheese (I used shredded and it seemed to turn out ok)
1 T Parsley
1 T Basil
1/2 T Oregano
2 t Paprika
1/2 t Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper to taste

Melt almost one stick of butter (mine had a few Tbs missing and it was still more than enough)

Take 4lbs of chicken legs or wing drummettes and dip them in the butter then roll them in the cheese/spice mix. Place onto greased, rimmed pan. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes (shorter time for wing parts).

The Tribe

Bryan Barksdale (organizer of the Austin Primal Living Group), Tracy Bennett, Mohan Zhang, Elexia Lowe, Kevin Koskella (of Health Mind, Fit Body), Tracy Jones (author of The Caveman diet), Hieu Nguyen, Nam Nguyen, Vy Nguyen, Vicky Moya, Jordan, Alex, Kevin’s friend

TAGS: health challenges, reader-created content

About the Author

Mark Sisson is the founder of Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. His latest book is Keto for Life, where he discusses how he combines the keto diet with a Primal lifestyle for optimal health and longevity. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.